IAFC Ben Franklin Award for Valor

About the Award

The IAFC Ben Franklin Award for Valor, sponsored by Motorola Solutions, is the IAFC's most prestigious award. Since 1970, the award has recognized the spirit of service, courage and heroism that is a proud tradition among the world's fire and emergency service. The program is named for one of the first fire chiefs in the United States, Benjamin Franklin. An inventor, statesman and humanitarian, Mr. Franklin was a prime contributor to the wealth of tradition that symbolizes the fire and emergency service worldwide.

Sponsored by:

Presented annually at Fire-Rescue International (FRI) by the IAFC and Motorola Solutions, the award honors a firefighter for his or her expert training, professional service and dedication to the duty displayed in saving a human life. But the program is more than that. It helps raise public awareness and support for the fire and emergency service.

All active firefighters career or volunteer, whether on or off-duty, are eligible for award consideration. They need only to be nominated by their chief for an incident in which they saved a human life.

The chief must submit all pertinent details and the nomination form to the program coordinator. The award winner(s) and his or her department chief are treated to a VIP weekend at the FRI conference. The recipient's chief is also presented with the Benjamin Franklin Departmental Award for Leadership.

Nomination Process

The 2018 nomination period opened February 1 and closes May 20 at 11:59 PM ET. Questions? Contact: BenFranklinAward@iafc.org.